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Briefly Noted

On September 9, five Catholic nuns were arrested after entering Peterson Air Force Base, headquarters of the U.S. Space Command, to "disarm" representations of military hardware by hammering and pouring blood. "All within us and our religious congregations place our trust and security in the God of creation who made heaven and earth," said participant Ardeth Platte, OP. "We refuse to allow false gods to be placed before us."

In their respective official gatherings, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church recently voted in one form or another not to sanction same-sex unions. All three events were marked by acts of civil disobedience by Rev. Mel White's gay rights activist group Soulforce. Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kansas, was also present.

In 1996, American Lori Berenson was imprisoned in Peru, accused of being a guerrilla leader. Though she's been granted a new civilian trial, The Washington Post quoted Berenson's mother Rhoda as saying, "We're certainly glad that Peru finally recognized that it made a mistake. But we're very unhappy about the prospect of another trial in a country that every human rights group has said is incapable of giving a fair trial." Visit www. freelori.org

Andrés Thomas Conteris began a fast and vigil at the White House on July 25 to protest the resumption of U.S. Navy bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. "It is unacceptable that the Navy continues to bomb the populated island of Vieques and unconscionable that the president refuses to meet with the religious and peace movement leaders," he said. "We will continue our witness until that meeting takes place." Thomas Conteris, a United Methodist lay missioner, is a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean. See www.viequesfast.org

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